Rumors, Fairytales, and the Boy Who Lived
by BYF
Summary: revised* There was just something about the Boy-Who-Lived that could make you love him in an instant or fear him without a second thought. ***The musings of the eldest Weasley boy on the night the You-Know-Who disappeared and the first time he met Harry.


**_Rumors, Fairytales and the Boy-Who-Lived_**

  
  
When he first heard the rumors it was hard to believe. For years after that he thought that somebody had just made a mistake. After all, how could a little baby be so special? It was impossible that he had survived on his own, without any help. Harry Potter wasn't special; he was just a normal little boy who managed to live. It could have been anyone. It could have been his best friend Michael, the next-door neighbors' daughter Daisy; it could even have been his little baby brother Ron, or even his sister Ginny.  
  


The staircase creaked slightly as he crept down the winding stairs. He bit his lip nervously hoping that nobody heard the creaking; they never did.  
  
He could hear the whispering and the soft crying coming from the kitchen.  
  
"Arthur, what happened?" his mum whispered, fearing the worse. She always did fear the worse; good news rarely ever occurred anymore.  
  
"He's gone! You-Know-Who is gone!"  
  
"What? How?"  
  
He could see his mum's eyes widen without actually seeing them, her body shiver and tense at the mention of the wizard that terrorized everyone. They tried to keep him from knowing what happened out in the real world: the pain and the death. His mum and dad would hide the newspaper from him and his brothers at the breakfast table; would whisper in the shadows when they thought everyone was asleep. Everybody did as a matter of fact, everyone tried to hide from their children the dangers of the real world; they were never very successful.  
  
He heard the story that would be a mystery, a fairy tale told to little children, and would awe even the greatest witches and wizards for years to come. The story of how the Dark Lord attacked the Potter house to kill the family but never fulfilling his goal when it came to the baby boy.  
  
"James, Lily Potter? Who are they?" his mom asked in a confused voice, searching her mind trying to figure out why those names sounded so familiar. She didn't know it then but those two names would be forever etched into her and everybody in the wizarding world's memory.  
  
His blue eyes reflected that same confusion. Usually his dad and mum only whispered in the shadows when it was somebody they knew. Somebody like Aunt Tilly, Granny, Poppies, the next-door neighbors that lived there a few years back with their son, Sarah and Mathew- his mum and dad's best friends, even his older brother that nobody talked about.  
  
"Do you remember that couple that we met at our first meeting with the Order? The one that you claimed was so cute and in love when they teased one another?"  
  
He moved further down the steps, hidden in the shadows, trying to see and hear his parents' conversation better.  
  
"Oh dear. I just saw them in Diagon Alley a few days ago," Molly answered with sudden recognition, "They looked so happy with that adorable little baby boy about Ron's age."  
  
Silence filled the room for several minutes. His mother choked back tears, tears that held the pain from the death of the couple and the happiness that the war was finally over. "They were so sweet. Why? Why did he go after them? That little boy- what is his name?"  
  
"It's Harry. Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived!" his father said no longer whispering, voice full of happiness, pride, and hope for the future. Hope that he hadn't heard in his dad's voice in years.

As he stared down at the young boy, his youngest brother's best friend, he couldn't help but finally understand why everyone believed that story without a second thought. The boy with normal, messy black hair, ordinary bright-green eyes outlined by black-framed glasses, and yet none of those features were normal or ordinary. It didn't take the scar on his forehead to realize that this boy had always been special. There was just something about the Boy-Who-Lived that could make you love him in an instant or fear him without a second thought.  
  
He could now understand why he was the symbol of love, of hope, and of hatred. Why Ginny had such a crush on the boy-hero. Why he was the Boy-Who-Lived and why his best friend Michael, the next door neighbors' daughter Daisy, his little baby brother Ron, or his sister Ginny could never have been him. Why he was the next greatest wizard in the making. Why the Dark Lord hated and feared him. Why he would never be normal.  
  
Why everyone who ever met him would always see him as the Boy-Who- Lived and nobody would or could ever see him as just being Harry-  
  
"I'm Bill Weasley."  
  
"It's nice to meet you," the Boy-Who-Lived replied.  
  
He glanced at the girl that stood between his brother and the boy-who- lived. The girl his brother blushed and talked about constantly with irritation and adoration. He watched as she glanced at Harry, and he glanced back. At that very moment he felt very sorry for his brother. At that very moment he knew that he was wrong about one thing- somebody out there did see Harry Potter as Harry and not the Boy-Who-Lived.  
  
"You must be Hermione Granger," he said softly, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."  
  
***  
  
I know a lot of you are thinking that this is HP/HG story but it isn't! The line '_At that very moment he felt very sorry for his brother. At that very moment he knew that he was wrong about one thing- somebody out there did see Harry Potter as Harry and not the Boy-Who-Lived' _that was merely stating that Ron had to worry and probably suck up to Harry because Hermione would never be with him if Harry didn't approve of the relationship because he was practically a brother to her. ~ I hope you understand what I am talking about….

*This was reposted for grammar errors* This is the only thing that I am writing for this story; there will be no other chapters. I may eventually decide to put up another chapter in the very far away future. However, for right now this all there is for _Rumors, Fairytales, and the Boy-Who-Lived._

*** I am also looking for a beta reader. If you would like to beta read for me please email me at sakrchan@yahoo.com   **

**Also, if you are interested in a new fanfiction.net account please email me! I have three accounts (two of them I never used and only created because I was thinking about changing my name and didn't realize I could do that under the settings) I really don't want to waste anymore of Fanfiction.net's space then I need to so I'm trying to give them to somebody who will use them. If you are interested email me!**

**~thanks**


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